; Komi: Печӧра; Nenets: Санэроˮ яха , name_etymology = The Russian name of the river is a combination of two words in an old local Nenets dialect, "pe" & "chora". Literally it means "forest dweller". , image = Берега Печоры. Якша.jpg , image_size = 270 , image_caption = , map = Pechora-en.svg , map_size = 270 , map_caption = Pechora catchment area and tributaries , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption= , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 =

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, subdivision_type2 = State , subdivision_name2 =

Komi Republic The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of th ...

Nenets Autonomous Okrug The Nenets Autonomous Okrug (russian: Не́нецкий автоно́мный о́круг; Nenets: Ненёцие автономной ӈокрук, ''Nenjocije awtonomnoj ŋokruk'') is a federal subject of Russia and an autonomous okrug of ...

, subdivision_type3 = , subdivision_name3 = , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name4 = , subdivision_type5 = Cities , subdivision_name5 =

Naryan-Mar Naryan-Mar (russian: Нарья́н-Мар; Nenets: Няръянa марˮ, ''Njarjana marꜧ'', literally "red town") is a sea and river port town and the administrative center of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. The town is situated on the r ...

Pechora Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

Ust-Tsilma Ust-Tsilma (russian: Усть-Ци́льма, kv, Чилимдін, ''Ćilimdïn'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Ust-Tsilemsky District of the Komi Republic, Russia, located where the Tsilma River enters th ...

, length = , width_min = , width_avg = , width_max = , depth_min = , depth_avg = , depth_max = , discharge1_location= mouth (monthly average) , discharge1_min = , discharge1_avg = , discharge1_max = , source1 =

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, source1_location =

, source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth = Arctic Ocean,

Pechora Sea Pechora Sea (russian: link=no, Печо́рское мо́ре, or Pechorskoye More), is a sea at the northwest of Russia, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. The western border of the sea is off Kolguyev Island, while the eastern border i ...

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

, mouth_location = , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Unya, Northern Mylva, Velyu, Lemyu, Kozhva, Lyzha, Izhma, Neritsa, Pizhma, Tsilma, Sula , tributaries_right =

Ilych The Ilych (russian: Илыч) is a river in the Komi Republic in northwest Russia. It drains part of the northern Ural Mountains westward into the upper Pechora. The river is long, and the area of its drainage basin is . The Ilych freezes up in ...

, Podcherye, Shchugor,

Usa The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Laya, Yorsa, Sozva, Shapkina, Kuya , custom_label = , custom_data = , extra = The Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; Komi: Печӧра; Nenets: Санэроˮ яха) is the sixth-longest river in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Flowing from

Northwest Russia Northwest Russia, or the Russian North is the northern part of western Russia. It is bounded by Norway, Finland, the Arctic Ocean, the Ural Mountains and the east-flowing part of the Volga. The area is roughly coterminous with the Northwestern ...

and into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, it lies mostly in the

but the northernmost part crosses the

Geography

The Pechora is long (a little shorter than the Columbia River) and its basin is , or about the same size as Finland. By mean annual discharge it ranks third in Europe, after the Volga and Danube. Its discharge is about half that of the Danube and a little more than its sister, the

Northern Dvina , image = dvina.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Northern Dvina starts as the confluence of Yug River (on left) and Sukhona River (on top) near Veliky Ustyug (photo 2001) , source1 = Confluence of ...

, and is the largest of any river with no dams in its basin outside of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. West of its lower course is the

Timan Ridge The Timan Ridge (russian: Тиманский кряж – ''Timansky Kryazh'') is a highland in the far north of European Russia. Most of the Timan Ridge is situated in the Komi Republic, but the northernmost part is in Nenets Autonomous Okrug a ...

. East of the basin along the west flank of the Urals is the

Yugyd Va National Park Yugyd Va National Park ( Komi, russian: Югыд ва) is a national park in the Komi Republic, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. It is Europe's largest national park (ahead of Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland) and it was ...

. Also in the basin is the Virgin Komi Forests, the largest virgin forest in Europe. In the far northeast of the basin on the Usa River is the large coal center of

Vorkuta Vorkuta (russian: Воркута́; kv, Вӧркута, ''Vörkuta''; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin ...

. The river was once an important transportation route, especially for those travelling to northwest Siberia. Today a railroad runs southwest from Vorkuta to Moscow.

Along the Pechora

The river rises in the Ural Mountains in the south-eastern corner of the Komi Republic. This area is part of the

Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve (russian: Печоро-Илычский заповедник, ''Pechoro-Ilychsky zapovednik'') is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in the Komi Republic, Russia. It currently occupies 7,213 square kilometer ...

. On the other side of the Urals are the headwaters of the Northern Sosva. The river flows south, then west and turns north near

Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

which is the head of navigation for small boats. A portage led south to the

Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

basin. To the east is the upper

Vychegda , image = VytchegdaRiver.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The lower course of the Vychegda , source1_location = , mouth = Northern Dvina , mouth_coordinates = , progression = , sub ...

, a tributary of the Northern Dvina. The river flows past Komsomolsk-na-Pechore to Ust-Ilych where the

joins from the east, then Northwest to Troitsko-Pechorsk ( from the mouth), north to

Vuktyl Vuktyl (russian: Вукты́л, kv, Вуктыл) is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pechora River near its confluence with the , northeast of Syktyvkar, the capital of the republic. Population: Histor ...

and

Ust-Shchuger Ust-Shchuger (russian: Усть-Щугер, kv, Тшугӧр, ''Čugör''), formerly known as Ust-Shchugor (),"Коми АССР. Административно-территориальное деление на 1 июля 1968 года". Ком� ...

where the Shchugor joins from the east. The river then flows north to

town, where the railway from Vorkuta crosses, then north to Ust-Usa where the

joins from the east (the Usa was once an important river route into Siberia). The Pechora then curves northwest, west, and west southwest. The Izhma joins from the south. It then flows further west to

( from the mouth) where the Pizhma joins from the southwest and the Tsilma joins from the west. Before modern times people traveled up the Tsilma and portaged to the

Pyoza The Pyoza (russian: Пёза) is a river in Mezensky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Mezen. It is long, and the area of its basin . The main tributaries of the Pyoza are the Tsema (left), Varchushka (r ...

to reach the White Sea. Then the Pechora turns north and crosses the arctic Arctic Circle and the border of the Nenets Okrug;

Pustozyorsk Pustozersk (russian: Пустозерск , Tundra Nenets: Санэр” харад, ''Sadėr’’ harad'') or Pustozyorsk () was the first town built by Russians north of the Arctic Circle. It was the administrative center of Yugra and Pecho ...

;

, the Nenets capital and a port at the head of the Pechora delta; Pechora Bay;

; and finally the

Hydrology

The monthly average discharge of the river was recorded between 1981 and 1993 in the village of Oksino, located upstream from the mouth. The values are presented in the diagram below (metric units, m³/s).

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.8) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.3) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.8,0.9) ImageSize = width:500 height:300 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:20000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:Jan text:Jan. bar:Fév text:Feb. bar:Mar text:Mar. bar:Avr text:Apr. bar:Mai text:May. bar:Jun text:Jun. bar:Jul text:Jul. bar:Aoû text:Aug. bar:Sep text:Sep. bar:Oct text:Oct. bar:Nov text:Nov. bar:Déc text:Dec. PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:Jan from:0 till: 926 bar:Fév from:0 till: 743 bar:Mar from:0 till: 643 bar:Avr from:0 till: 778 bar:Mai from:0 till: 11829 bar:Jun from:0 till: 17182 bar:Jul from:0 till: 7530 bar:Aoû from:0 till: 3543 bar:Sep from:0 till: 4303 bar:Oct from:0 till: 3670 bar:Nov from:0 till: 1972 bar:Déc from:0 till: 1277 PlotData= bar:Jan at: 926 fontsize:S text: 926 shift:(-10,5) bar:Fév at: 743 fontsize:S text: 743 shift:(-10,5) bar:Mar at: 643 fontsize:S text: 643 shift:(-10,5) bar:Avr at: 778 fontsize:S text: 778 shift:(-10,5) bar:Mai at: 11829 fontsize:S text: 11829 shift:(-10,5) bar:Jun at: 17182 fontsize:S text: 17182 shift:(-10,5) bar:Jul at: 7530 fontsize:S text: 7530 shift:(-10,5) bar:Aoû at: 3543 fontsize:S text: 3543 shift:(-10,5) bar:Sep at: 4303 fontsize:S text: 4303 shift:(-10,5) bar:Oct at: 3670 fontsize:S text: 3670 shift:(-10,5) bar:Nov at: 1972 fontsize:S text: 1972 shift:(-10,5) bar:Déc at: 1277 fontsize:S text: 1277 shift:(-10,5)

Canal projects to the Kama River

Before the arrival of the railroad to the Pechora, an important way of travel to the region was via a

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

road, from Cherdyn in the

basin to

on the Pechora. A project for a

Pechora–Kama Canal The Pechora–Kama Canal (russian: Канал Печора-Кама), or sometimes the Kama–Pechora Canal, was a proposed canal intended to link up the basin of the Pechora River in the north of European Russia with the basin of the Kama, a trib ...

along the same general route was widely discussed in the 1960s through 1980s, this time not as much for transportation, but for the diversion of some of the water of the Pechora to the Kama, as part of a grand Northern river reversal scheme. However, no construction work was carried out on the route of the proposed canal, other than a triple nuclear explosion in 1971, which excavated a crater over long.

Literary reference

The Pechora was the source of the name of Pechorin – protagonist of the 1839 novel ''

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

'' by

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

, a well-known work of Russian literature.

References

Pechora
in the ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' {{Authority control Rivers of the Komi Republic Rivers of Nenets Autonomous Okrug